we begin in washington where just a few hours ago president obama came face to face with some of his toughest critics, ordinary american who is are feeling pinched by the economy, and they're losing hope fast. at a town hall meeting that just wrapped un eped up on cnbc, he questions from middle class working people. a law school grad who says he wonders if the american dream is dead for him. where does he go from here? the president's challenge to convince the americans he's laying the foundation for a better economic future and at the same time to convince his critics that the steps he's taking are not anti-wall zreet or business. >> what has made us successful over the long term is we have the most dynamic free market economy in the world. government can't create the majority of jobs. in fact, we want to get out of the way of folks who have a great idea and want to run with it.

>> john harwood moderated the town hall, which will reair right here on msnbc. a lot of ground was covered in an hour's worth of time. explain to us the main points the president was trying to drive home. >> well, i think it's the balancing act, thomas, that you identified a few moments ago. he's got to reassure business, which has a lot of cash on their balance sheets that's not being invested that could be a key to growth that they should have confidence in him. they should not see him has somebody attacking him. he has to convince ordinary people he's not too pro business. we had a poll that said most people think he's helping investment banks and large wall street institutions rather than him. it's not easy for him. he kept to his stance on tax cuts. we have a debate on whether the bush tax cuts should be extended for those making more than

$250,000. he said today he's not ready to give ground. >> keep going, keep going, stop. >> here's what i can do, i can't give tax cuts to the top 2% of americans. 86% of that money going to people making a million dollars or more, and lower the deficit at the same time. so there you have it. the president has the balancing act not just between populism and confidence in business, but also stimulating the economy in the short term and reducing the deficit in the long term. and what the president talked about was putting in place some measures, especially after this deficit commission reports in december that will take effect in the out years and don't slow the economy down in the near term, thomas. >> john harwood, thanks so much. staying on the subject of the economy, we have an official declaration today that the worst recession since the great depression is over.

that came from the national bureau of economic research, the official scorekeeper of the u.s. economy. the panel says the recession that started in december of 2007 actually ended in june of 2009 when the economy started growing again. at cnbc's town hall this afternoon acknowledged the struggle isn't over for a lot of americans out there. >> even though economists may say the recession ended last year. obviously for the millions of people still out of work, people who have seen their home values decline. people struggling to pay the bills day-to-day, it's still very real for them. we talk about this declaration that the recession is over. is this just words? >> it doesn't change the reality that we're still in a market with very high unemployment.

just because the economy started growing a year ago doesn't mean it's back to where we need it to be. that's something the business cycle data committee acknowledged. just because we're seeing the recession ended last june doesn't mean everything is better again. >> so for all of us out there. explain what is the bureau of national economic research, and what's the basis on making this declaration? >> sure. this is a group of private economists. top macro economists out of the top universities. they have this business cycle dating committee. thea get together every once in a while and look at the economic data and try to assess if the economy sh in an expansion or contraction. they don't want to tell you how the economy is going in realtime. we're now 14 months after the apparent end of the recession. they are trying to produce historical markers for when expansions begin and when recessions begin. they said the expansion began last summer, even though things

aren't back to where we want it to be. >> millions of americans would agree the recession is not over for them. that's for sure. in delaware, christine o'donnell, the rp candidate for senate is trying to focus attention away from some of her controversial statements. her previous comments are now under scrutiny. take a listen to o'donnell in 1999 where she admits to dabbling in witchcraft. >> one of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic alter. i didn't know it. there was blood there. >> your first date was at a satanic alter. >> we went to a midnight and had a picnic at an alter. >> like her first date ever? kelly o'donnell is in washington and joins us me to talk about that. maybe this is interesting to point out. it was 1999. she was on the show with bill maher where outlandish things are picked up, and they're looking for ratings, is this going to stick to her campaign?

>> we'll see. what she's trying to do is again use humor to dismiss it, to say this is about -- she was talking about something back in her high school days. she was a part of a comedy show, she was a frequent guests on many kinds of television and comedy and news shows as a part of her job advocating for socially conservative issues. now flash forward to 2010. she's saying this is about delaware and the voters there and she's going to focus on issues. so part of her argument is that she says she never intended to be a politician, which is very appealing in the tea party movement because she would have never said all the things getting so much scrutiny now had she had the senate in her plan. tonight she'll appear at a forum with other candidates. her democratic opponent will not be there. she'll have a chance to talk about the issues with others running for statewide office. she's trying to split the difference. to smile and make light of some

of the things that are getting attention, while appearing to be focused on votered in delaware, doing events in delaware and trying to get the focus off the more controversial parts. she continues to raise money, and really voters will have to decide if it matters or not. >> does this mean she's just dabbling in politics? >> well she's been a candidate three times before. and long had a sense of wanting to be in public service. what i mean is when she ran in 2008, for example, she opposed joe biden when she was running for a senate seat. she was snefr scrutinized like this. as a young woman she didn't anticipate being a candidate. in recent years she's run a number of times and has not been successful. now there's so much attention on her. everything she's ever said is coming to light. >> and bill maher says there's more to come from the 24 appearances she had on his show. >> he says that he really enjoyed having her on his show as well. and he may doll out one clip a

week if she does not appear again on his program. >> kelly o'donnell, thanks so much. you bet. >> we are talking a lot about politics in this first hour. i want to tell you about lady gaga. she's not giving up her singing gig, but she's holding a rally in maine, making her case to end the military's policy of don't ask, don't tell. here's the pitch she has out there on youtube. >> ultimately the law is being enforced using gay profiling. and gay soldiers have become targets. no short, not only is the law unconstitutional, but it's not even being properly or fairly enforced by the government. >> so this comes a week after the mtv music awards when she was escorted by members of the military who have been kicked out for admitting they are gay. i start ad twitter campaign to get gaga on the show. we were told she's not doing press before this.

however, a reporter from nbc affiliate wcsh joins me from portland, maine. set the scene for us. what's the atmosphere like just two hours for the start of the rally? >> so far there's about 100 people behind me where the stage is, where lady gaga is supposed to speak. others are trying to do their best lady gaga impressions. little kids are wearing masks that emulate gaga. she is expected to be here at 5:00. originally she was going to be here at 4:00. she's delayed in getting to portland. in the meantime, members of the military who were kicked out of the military because of the don't ask, don't tell policy will be speaking here today. they're expecting 4,000 to 5,000 people will be listening to the speeches and listening to gaga. if they're looking for a concert, they may have come to the wrong place. she is not expected to be

singing today. she's only going to be speaking about the don't ask, don't tell policy. she's in maine because collins and olympia snowe have been friendly on gay issues in the past. she voted in favor of repealing don't ask, don't tell, while the bill was in committee. this was a small part of a defense reauthorization bill. they are taking issue with the fact that majority leader harry reid has been keeping republican amendments from being added to the bill. so right now a festive atmosphere. >> caroline, thank you so much. so will lady gaga because the joan of her time? give me your take. what do you think? >> thomas, i get nervous when entertainment figures weigh in on matters of politics. long ago i had to cross the bridge and say if i pick entertainers by politics, i would have nobody to listen to and no movies to watch.

she has a con stitchsy. we are such a segmented society. when you think of all the media outlets out there, i'm sure she has a constituency that snowe and collins may not hear of. for that matter, i take it seriously. a group of people will come out and be energized like they haven't because of lady gaga. i think she's the number one followed person on twitter. don't ask, don't tell is the just a matter of time. maybe going after the youth culture is the way to go. >> my view is the heavy lifting has already been done on don't ask, don't tell. i do believe it's a matter of time. on a whole host of issues having to do with same-sex relationships. so perhaps, you know, she smells victory on this and wants to be in part credited. i guess that's a cynical take. but i do think it's going to happen. i do believe this will have some

impact in energizing people who up until now haven't been heard from on it. >> and in your opinion, is this like oprah supporting obama? >> you know, dare i say i've got more respect for oprah than lady gaga? i don't know. you'll have to make that judgment. >> but still you understand the power she has. and when she wields it, and she does so in an effective way, it can make a difference. >> there's no doubt about it. the entertainment world generally, i think, is comprised of individuals who if they use it in the right way have tremendous political power. >> pane what do you think about the tweets she's got back and forth with harry reid and susan collins and olympia snowe? >> well, that gets back to my point about how it's such a segmented society in which we live. the politicians realize that you know they may not be lady gaga fans. i'm not sure harry reid would know lady gaga.

but they all have respect for the six million followers and she demands an audience. it's an audience they would desperately like to reach. >> she would be on harry reid's schedule. maybe a minor heads up or he has somebody in his family. >> probably some grand kids. >> great to see you. thanks. >> thank you. developing just now for you, 135,000 people in new york city are likely looking for another way home tonight. the metro northline has suspended service in and out of grand central station because of a fire. pilings underneath the bridge in harlem caught fire before noon. the reports of no injuries. this is the second commuter mess in a week in new york. last thursday thousands were stranded. tornadoes twisted trees onto the tracks. developing news in the murder of a police chief's daughter. a nationwide search for the suspect finally comes to an end. and we have the gripping details. >> iran's president touches down in new york city. he's going to meet with the

mother of the two american hikers. or will he meet with the mother of two american hikers? plus a dramatic river rescue. a boat sinking fast and the rescuer who arrives just in time. we have the story for you. before rogaine, my solution to the problem was to go ahead and wear hats. i was always the hat guy. i can't even tell you how much it's changed my life.

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so far there's no indication iran's president ahmadinejad will meet with the mothers of the two american prisoners. he's going to address the general aslem bli on thursday as will president obama. the mothers of shane bauer and josh fattal are also in new york. freed american sarah shourd is back in the u.s.

she told reporters sunday that she and her fiance and their friend josh fattal had no idea they crossed into iran and they did not commit any crimes. >> shane and josh do not deserve to be in prison one lay longer than i was. we committed no crime. and we are not spies. my disappointment in not sharing this with shane and josh was crushing, and i stand before you today only one-third free. >> nbc news tehran bureau chief is here in new york for the u. general assembly meeting here here with me in studio to talk about this. is there any chance president ahmadinejad will meet with them? >> it's high lie unlikely? they requested a meeting with them back in may. that was the perfect opportunity to meet with them. he has nothing to gain by meeting them here.

>> while he's here for the u.n. and president obama, what is likelihood of them getting together to discuss the possibility of these two hikers being freed? >> president ahmadinejad said he would like to sit down and have a debate with president obama, something that's never been done before. he said we can debate world issues, but that's not a way of doing politics to have an open debate. i don't think they'll want to cross horns either. >> let's talk about the time line for what the iranian jew dish rare is saying about the two men who remain captive. what is the time line for moving the case guaforward? >> at the time they released sarah shourd, they said the case was sent to the revolutionary court on charges of espionage. in two months time they'll have to go through the proceed your. they'll expect sarah shourd to come back for trial. in the next two or three months

we should see that going into motion and the trial of two boys starting in iran. >> and you get to stay here for the u.n. assignment. roughly about a week. enjoy new york city. good to see you. general motor announces a new recall. tens of thousands of vehicles affected. is yours one of them? and washington, d.c. may be the heart of american politics, but it's also known for a troubling statistic. we're going to tell you about the other city. it's something people are rarely talking about. ♪

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got the gecko t-shirt... ish "4 million drivers switched!" gecko water bottle... notebook... chamois... gecko: sir, i feel a little bit uncomfortable with all... you know... with all this. i mean, it's not about me. should be about how geico's the third-largest car insurance company in the nation. things like that. boss: oh, of course! we're not gonna get carried away. gecko: uh...yeah... all right as long as we don't overdo it. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. now to tu side of our nation's capital people never see. the new documentary "the other city" shines a light on the growing epidemic of hiv/aids. >> when other people come to you and get high and they don't have

syringes. >> i didn't force people to have relationships with those positive in aids. >> the failure to have needle exchange allowed the disease to be silently passed through the population. for that, the congress of the united states is chiefly responsible. >> washington, d.c. has the highest infection rate at 3%. that's far above the definition of a severe epidemic, which falls at 1%. at the height of the aids crisis. joining us now is the executive produce of "the other city" sheila johnson. great to have you with us. >> thank you. it's my there shall. >> for everybody to have an idea. you're the first physical black billionaire in the united states. you have a list of business credits that would take the whole hour to say. >> the position i'm in that i'm

capable of doing this first of all for the past five years i've been a global ambassador for care. i've seen how aids has ravaged africa. coming home, i see how aids is ravaging the nation's capitol. i want to bring this to light. i have down a lot of documentary film work. i feel this is one of the most important documentaries ever made. >> why do you think there's so much stigma around hiv/aids? >> no one wants to talk about it. by not talking about it, the rate is increasing. not just in washington, d.c. but across the nation. we have to start talking about it. we have to be educating our young people. her going around having unprotected sex. we have seeing huge increases between 18 and 34. and it's picking up again in women 50 and older. >> i have a friend who saw this movie over the weekend and saying feeling a little bit of rage i've had to stuff down deep for many years working in the city, nothing was left for me to

do but shake may head and alternate between anger and sadness and cry a bit in the dark. is that the effect you want to have? to raise the awareness to the point of anger? >> yes. so often we hear the experts talking about aids and percentages. i want people to see the real victims of this disease and walk in their shoes for 90 minutes to see what their lives are about. >> for the peoplefeatured in the film, what happens to so many of them? you fall so more story lines. and they're really hard to watch. what happens to the people? >> well, i've been a global ambassador for five years. we were working on the movie for a year and a half. i think with all of them we've been able to put out there transpersonsy of our lives. she has groan tremendously

through the filming of this. she's hiv positive and worried about her health. all the characters within the movie we have given them hope. >> we want to point out right now it's the limited release in new york, d.c., san francisco. >> and l.a. and we're going to chicago, too. >> the broader picture for a bigger release? >> we hope so. we're going to see what's going to happen. >> sheila jan son, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to do this. we wish you must success. >> it's my pleasure. everyone needs to get out to see this film. it's transforming. >> afghans are hitting the polls to select a new parliament. just like last year, there are major allegations of fraud. we'll bring you a live report from afghanistan next. then a close call. super close call on the water. look at this. a boater's life saved just in the nick of time. [ fstay twice...

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a watchdog group in afghanistan released a preliminary report on the elections. the findings reveal one problem after the other. the independent free and fair elections say there was ballot boxed stuffing, underage voting and repeat volting on saturday, not to mention the deadly rocket and bomb attacks that left 30 people dead. as the vote count continues across the country, officials in afghanistan say it's still too early to judge the validity of the elections. john yang is live in kabul. the u.s. is watching this closely. how could the proceedings affect the u.s. strategy of the troops in the region? >> well, thomas. the complaints about the election and how the government, the afghan government handles those complaints is going to be key in determining the future strategy of the obama administration. especially after the heels of last year's presidential

election riddled with massive fraud, another tainted election that the afghan people have trouble accepting or maybe refuse to accept could be a fatal blow to the president's hopes of starting to withdraw u.s. troops from afghanistan starting next july. u.s. ambassador carl ikenbery says there was some fraud in this election and says he expecteds a lot of complaints. >> we also have to recognize there's 2,500 candidates competing for 250 seats. for every country satisfied candidate is going to be certified as voted into parliament x there will be nine unhappy. the candidates that didn't make it, there's going to be legitimate complaints. there's probably some not so legitimate complaints. i would expect over the next six weeks there to be a lot of complaints that will be

surfacing. >> that six weeks the ambassador was talking about, we don't expect final results until the end of october. we don't expect preliminary results from this vote count for several days, perhaps several weeks. >> explain why the time line? why so lock? >> this is not a modern election system. these are paper ballots spread out along the country. the infrastructure is not great. it's going to take a lot of time to get them into kabul to be counted and examined by the commission. now we shift gears to a dramaticive rescue in croatia. they tried to toe a stranded boat with a 56-year-old man to safety. a helicopter finally drop ad rescuer down to the sinking boat in the river and he managed to hook himself to the boater and

pull himself up seconds before the vessel sank. both were air lifted to safety. seconds to spare. new york's bill air michael bloomberg is making his influence felt from coast to coast this election season. right now mayor bloomberg is personally backing and campaigning for political moderates and big national races. it's a counter force against tea party politics. perhaps even of his own political ambitions. nbc news deputy political director mark murray joins me from washington, d.c. to talk about. this how big of a political factor could someone like bloomberg be in the fall? >> it could be a pretty big factor. right now there's broad dissatisfaction with both political parties, the democratic party and the republican party, and that does create an opening for an independent like mike bloomberg. bloomberg, once a democrat then a republican, now an independent, he's endorsing centrist democrats and republicans on the republican

side. along with illinois republican senatorial nominee kirk. harry reid, the majority leader along with joe sestak in pennsylvania, who president obama is campaigning for today. he's trying to straddle and find centrists from both parties. >> what else are moderates doing to get their voice out a bit? >> sir isaac newton said for every action there's an opposite and equal reaction. with the big tea party forces we've been seeing, the center is starting to fight back. maybe not as strong now. but we saw evidence of it over the weekend. kohl listen powell was on meet the press castigating the tea party. we saw mike bloomberg doing this. in alaska the right end bid for her senate seat. it's a push back from the center. >> how much of an up hill climb

sh that for murkowski in alaska? >> you know, the only other person who has been able to win as a write-in candidate was strom thurman. her father was a long-time politician in the state. she has a million dollars in the bank. it's an up hill climb that makes the race much more interesting. >> mark murray, great to see you. thanks so much. former president jimmy carter who last month won the release of an american imprisoned in south korea since january says he does not plan to try to win the release of the two american hikings in iran. the former president appeared today to promote his new book, white house diary. he also talked if he thinks the tea party movement will last. >> i think it's going to be very effective and important during the upcoming election. i wrote a wave of dissatisfaction with the incumbent government in order to

get into the white house. i think the tea party is taking advantage of that now. i think their influence is going to be merged with the republican party, and then eventually i would say within -- i would hope by 2012, their big influence will be dissipated. >> nbc nightly news anchor brian williams talked with the former president today. you can see that full interview on nbc nightly news tonight. general motors is recalling more than 20,000 cars. the company saying the glove boxes in the cadillac cts and the ctsv vehicles need to be replaced because they could lead to leg injuries in a crash. they plan to notify owners next month. the glove boxes will be replaced at no charge to this the country owners. one down and one to go. paris hilton has her day in court. lindsay lohan is next up to bat. can the hollywood starlets get back on track? the big question answered from

the school. so -- >> so, hooer the situation. this morning we began with paris hilton arriving in a las vegas courtroom in cook county to address these charges of drug possession and lying to a police officer. she pleaded guilty on both counts. both are misdemeanors. the judge decided to put her on probation for a year. that's instead of a year in jail. as long as she's not arrested for anything other than a minor traffic violation, then she's done after paying a $2,000 fine and doing community service and an outpatient program. >> and that's her today. not the glamour walk we just saw with the sea kwin outfits on. this is her -- >> i guess this is her conservative courtroom look as well here. but, yes, you're seeing her -- and it was a very brief hearing. you blink and miss it for the most part. as long as she behaves and does these other things like the community service and the classes, then this time next year she'll be totally fine,

clean slate. >> at least she showed up and she was on time. >> there's that. which is a lot more than many celebrityscan say. the next topic, lindsay lohan, when will she be back in court? that's the question everybody has. she admitted on twitter that she failed a drug test. she said regrettably i did in fact fail my recent drug tests. she says drug addiction is a disease you have to overcome. it's a work in progress. she's finally sounding like she's accepting responsibility in this. she hasn't done that as all so far. it's always the paparazzi made me get into the accident or those weren't my pants you found drugs in. it was always an excuse. >> even though i was wearing them. >> it was always the dog ate my home work with lindsay. >> what about the court ordered situations go i'm supposed to be in jail, i'm suppose tods go to court ordered rehab for 90 days? isn't it the court's fault? >> in situation, the court allowed her to leave. there was a change in the judge

on the the case. you wonder if she would not be in this situation if she would have stayed as long as she was supposed to. the deputy d.a. is not in today. expecting tomorrow or wednesday to find out lindsay will be asked to go back to court. it's a serious problem. these celebrities get shortened sentences all the time. sometimes they work out. most of the time you're seeing someone who keeps getting the rules bent a little bit. it's not helping her out at all. >> if she gets 90 days in rehab, go to rehab for 90 days. >> you probably need it. the situation twice during our twice. which means you want to get to "dancing with the stars." you said here's the situation twice. >> "dancing with the stars." if you want to be in on relevant conversations, tomorrow morning, there's a lot of new television stars on. "dancing with the stars" is one show to make room for on your schedules tonight. everyone is talking about it because bristol palin is going

to be on. so is david hasselhoff and the situation. >> mrs. brady for all of us brady bunch fans out. >> it's quite the cast of "c" listers. also on television, choose "the event." it has jason ritter and blair underwood. and one of my personal favorites, house, premiering tonight. love, love, love that show. there's a lot on. all this week. i'm going to give you what you really need to focus onto be part of the talk. >> if you miss it tonight, we'll see you tomorrow at 11:00. stay with us. we're back with much more after this. [ technician ] are you busy? management just sent over these new technical manuals. they need you to translate them into portuguese. by tomorrow.

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a registered sex offender has been arrested in new york. michael neil harvey will be

beginning the extradition process. authorities launched a nationwide man hunt for him. an autopsy is scheduled for today. msnbc analyst and former fbi profiler clint van zandt joins us to talk about this. valerie was last seen leaving a bar or restaurant. i believe it was late. around 1:00 in the morning last thursday and believed to be with this man, harvey. does it say maybe she just meant him for the first time that night, or do we know anything about their relationship prior? >> we don't know anything prior, thomas. it sounds like it was the first thim they met. they left, we know, lit that night or early the next morning. she was reported missing. she was a swim coach and college student. she was reported missing. evidently police threw a tip from someone found out that her body might be in the storage

facility and early sunday morning the body was wrapped up as if whoever was responsible for her death was trying as hard as he could to hide it. >> what about his past record? he has a record a mile long. indicated he could turn violent, into a murder. >> well, we know he was previously arrested for a rape up in niagra county in niagara falls area. we know now he's 34 years old. but thomas has a continuing arrest record for drug offenses, for burglaries, for breaking and entering, so this is someone with a long lengthy history the terrible thing, here we have a police chief's daughter and thomas, we have, you and i and all your listeners have ways to check on someone like this. for example, you can go on our website, livesecure.org and look

up your address and find out the known sex offenders or go right to a state sex offender website. even in this technical era you could take your iphone and step outside for a minute, punch in somebody's name and find out if they have a history of sex offending or not. >> how does someone like this end up on probation? >> the challenge is it costs about $37,000 a year to keep somebody in jail or prison. and the courts are faced with this continuing challenge, how do we identify someone who is the old two or flee time loser, who we think will continue to be a threat to society. do we lock them up for the next 50 or 60 years and pay 30,000 a year? if i was the parents of this girl or my child or grandchild,

i would be willing to pay. these are the challenges out there. we're trying to figure out how this guy got out. if he's guilty of this crime, let's hope he never gets out again. >> such a sad case. a blufl young girl there. thanks so much. >> thank you, thomas. jan brewer finds perfect ad material in brewer's latest debate performance. we'll show you next. and bloomberg may have millions. you would never know by looking at his shoes. we tilt the cameras down. it's something we thought you should know. before rogaine, my solution to the problem was to go ahead

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so there's a lot going on today. here are the things we thought you should know. a debate debacle for campaign atds in arizona. jan brewer appeared to lose her train of thought in a debate against terry goddard. the new ad released by goddard's campaign highlights the gap. >> have you done anything to

bring jobs to arizona? >> we have -- did what was right for arizona. >> is this the best arizona can do? >> call the next story hardcore support for the troops. president obama and vice president joe biden recently signed a custom designed motorcycle to be auctioned. money raised will benefit the fisher house foundation. finally, his shoes are tough ones to walk in. all two pairs of them. according to the new york post, penny pinching billionaire and new york city mayor michael bloomberg has only worn two pairs of shoes to work over the past two years. his spokesperson says when the soles wear down, he just has the soles replaced, which is really an easy way to save money. that's how the rich stay rich. those are just some of the things we thought you should know about. that's going to wrap up this hour for me. i appreciate your time this hour. stay tuned for the rebroadcast of president obama's investing in america town hall. that is coming up next right here on msnbc.

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right now on msnbc we want to bring you a special encore presentation. president obama just a few hours ago at the cnbc town hall meeting of the economy. the leader of the free world is losing the confidence of free markets and the voters. >> down 20% since mr. obama's inauguration. >> yesterday's selloff was more related to the new restrictions from the obama administration. >> stocks have cratered. >> dollars shouldn't be weaker after the speech the president gave. >> we've taken extraordinary measures to block the hard edges of the worst recession of our lifetime. >> from wall street to main street. americans are tired of politics. >> the economic policies of this administration have failed.

>> worried about a weakening economy. but millions remain out of work. and fear their american dreams are slipping out of reach. now ore chief executive comes face to face with his shareholders to prove he means business, to answer tough questions. and to try to restore faith in his plan for prosperity. >> the economic policies we put in place are working. >> live from the nation's capitol, investing in america, a cnbc town hall event with president obama. >> good afternoon from washington, d.c. i'm john harwood. it is noon on the east coast. the dow jones average stands around 10,700 points. 15 million americans are out of work. and we're spending the next hour talking about how to fix the troubled american economy. please welcome the president of the united states.

[ applause ] >> thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you, guys. >> mr. president, thanks for being here. >> that was quite a lead-in, by the way. >> you like that? we've got a cross section of people from around the country, ceos, union workers, teachers and students -- >> it's a good-looking group, i have to say. >> small business owners, people who don't have jobs, every one of them has a stake in the

american dream. and they got some good news over the weekend. the national bureau of economic research says the recession ended in june of 2009. yet the problem is, many people in leaders and business think your policies are hostile towards them, and many ordinary americans think your policies are helping wall street and big business. how did that happen? >> well, first of all, even though economists may say that the recession officially ended last year, obviously for the millions of people who are still out of work, people who have seen their home values decline, people who are struggling to pay the bills day to day, it's still very real for them. and i think we have to go back to what was happening when i was first sworn in as the 44th president of the united states. we went through the worst recession since the great depression. nothing's come close.